Piano keyboard regulator



Feb. 26,v 1952 N. KRAUSZ PIANO KEYBOARD REGULATOR Filed Oct. 8, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR: /V/COAA$ KAA (/SZ ATTORNEYS Feb. 26. 1952 N. KRAUSZ 2,587,049

PIANO KEYBOARD REGULATOR Filed Oct. 8, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet z WMMM.

ATTORNEYS Feb. 26, 1952 sz 2,587,049

PIANO KEYBOARD REGULATOR Filed Oct. 8, 1949 4 Sheefcs-Sheet 3 |NVENTOR= /V/COZ/1S KAA USZ ATTORNEYS 9 4 4 R MS a m/m 7 6 N N 8 EZ R 5 JM S N T 2 t U T A a M 4 K 5/ M 0 m N KRAUSZ PIANO KEYBOARD REGULATOR Flled Oct 8 1949 Patented Feb. 26, l952 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcs PIANO KEYBOARD REGULATOR Nicolas Krausz, Buenos Aires, Argentina Application October 8, 1949, Serial No. 120,249

(c1. s444o) 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a piano keyboard regulator.

The main object of the invention is to provide means for adjusting and calibrating the hardness of the keyboard and for improving the repetition of the hammers.

As is well known, pianos in general have different responses to the back-stroke of the hammers, due to different reasons and particularly to the mounting of the hammers and their relation with the jacks depending on the action of the rear end of the respective keys.

Therefore, even if they are made with the same patterns or matrixes, the mechanical reaction is not always the same, more so if it is taken into consideration that the parts are made of wood which is sensitive to climatological influences.

These diiferences are more noticeable in the different types of pianos, of which the grand pianos offer more adjustment.

This represents a drawback for the pianist, as due to the fact that upright pianos generally have a softer keyboard, the change in the type of instrument demands certain eiforts which are greater when the player is to act in public.

For practicing purposes, both pianists and students prefer hard-keyboard pianos, as in this manner they develop more technique and the fingers become stronger and faster.

On the other hand, those persons who are used to hard pianos can play on any keyboard, whereas those used to light or soft pianos, when playing on hard pianos, experience serious difficulties in the execution of fast and difiicult parts at the required speed, due to the fact that their fingers lack sufficient energy and agility.

All of these drawbacks are overcome by means of the device of this invention which, when applied to a piano, allows the player to obtain the keyboard hardness he desires.

The device comprises a keyboard regulator which in each of the hammers is engaged by a tightener with tension towards the inoperative position, so that the back-stroke response of the hammer will depend on the regulation of each tightener; inasmuch as all of the tighteners are governed by a common member of general regulation, a slight operation with manual means will be sufficient to change the tension of all the tighteners, giving the keyboard greater or lesser hardness.

Apart from the above, the invention contemplates other objects, one of which is the provision of a device of the aforesaid type, capable of being applied to any type of piano without modifying the structure thereof.

A-further object of the invention is to provide a, device of the aforesaid type, wherein the different degrees of hardness in the keyboard is obtained in a very simple manner, as a slight movement of a handle or wheel will be sufficient to change the tension or tightness throughout the line of regulations.

A further object of the invention is to improve the mechanism and repetition of the hammers.

A still further object of this invention is to render uniform and to calibrate the hardness of the keys in any piano.

A still further object is to reinforce the mechanism of small pianos, which are not very strong due to the reduced size of the parts thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following description.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into practice, same has been illustrated by way of example and in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which: I

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the mechanism regulating the hardness of the keyboard.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of a piano, showing the tighteners with drum regulator applied to the keys and corresponding hammers thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the base of av hammer with its mount and tightener connected to the regulating device which in this instance is a drum, 3, portion of which is shown.

Fig. 4 is a detailed perspective view of one of the bearings supporting the drum constituting the regulating device.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lever arm coupled to the shaft of the drum or regulating device.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the ends of the drum constituting the regulating device and showing the stub thereof supported in the bearing and connected to the operating lever arm.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the plate fastening the tightener cords to the regulator drum.

Fig. 8 is a view showing the manner in which one end of the regulator drum is mounted.

Fig. 9 is a side view of the hammer mechanism, showing a modified embodiment wherein the tighteners are secured to the rear end or tail of the respective keys.

The same reference characters are used to in- 3 dicate like or corresponding parts or elements throughout the drawings.

With reference to the drawings, a are the hammers striking the respective piano strings; said hammers a with the butts l thereof are mounted as levers with fulcrum on the pivot 2 of the fixed part b of the piano. Said butt I has a pad 3 adapted to receive the action of a jack 4 which by means of a pin 5 is pivoted to a wippen c which is the base of said jack 4, and as such, said wippen c has small spring 6 pressing said jack by means of the heel 4. Said wippen c is also a lever which by means of a pivot "I bears on the same fixed part b of the piano. Said wippen c has a check 8 opposite a backstop of hammer a. Said backstop 9 has in turn a bridle tape l0 fastened to a hook H on wippen c, for the back-stroke of hammer a.

The lower portion of said wippen c has an extension I2 against which acts a prolong on the rear end or tail [4 of key d corresponding to a given hammer, said key having the usual bearing member so as to act as a lever of the first kind wherein the finger portion it acts as power arm.

With this arrangement, like in all pianos, upon pressing the finger portion to of the keys d, the prolong [3 on said key tail M will act on wippen c which on being raised, through the jack 4 will cause the sudden displacement of hammer a, which will thus strike the respective string, returning thereafter to its inoperative position due to the pull exerted by the bridle tape iii.

As this action is not always regular and the back-stroke may be slow and inconvenient for the repetition of definite notes and other pieces requiring the immediate and instantaneous return of the hammers a, in order to obtain effective responses and to regulate the hardness of the keys in accordance with the necessities in each case and with the pianist habit, there is provided a tightness regulator of this invention. This regulator consists of a plurality of tighteners e in a number equal to that of the keys and hammers, since each hammer a carries one of said tighteners.

Said tighteners e are constituted by a spring ll and a cord [8. The spring ii is fastened to the hook I l on wippen c, and since on said hook is also hooked the tape iii and the latter is secured to the backstop 9 of hammer a, the tight ener e will therefore remain coupled to said hammer. As shown, said cord i8 is fastened to a member l9 which in the case of Figs. 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 is a plate secured by a screw 2% whereas in the embodiment shown in 9 said securing member is an eye or ring to which is secured the cord regulating the tightness of spring H as required in accordance with the hardness of the key or the previous preparation to be given to tightener e in the case of multiple regulation.

In this latter case, there is provided along the entire hammer mechanism a regulating device 1 which in the embodiment of Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8 is a drum which by means of a shaft 2: is mounted in bearings 22 in the fixed portion of the piano. Said shaft H has an arm 23 secured by means of a screw 24 and pivoted to a connecting rod 25 which through a pin 25 is in turn pivoted to a slide bar 27 constituting the hand regulator element 5/.

Said hand regulator element g comprises a handle 28 arranged on bar 21, and as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, said bar 21, which is urged by a spring 29, has a series of notches 3t capable of being engaged by a stop 3| of hand regulator device g. The position of the drum of device I will depend on the notch 30 engaged by stop 3|. In effect, by sliding said bar 2! longitudinally, the drum of device f will be rotated by the fraction of a revolution through the action of arm 23, and said drum may be locked in any desired position by said stop engaging a corresponding notch 30 in bar 21.

Referring more particularly to the example shown in Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive, the drum f constituting the regulating device is located opposite the entire line of wippens c, and as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the tightener e of each hammer a is connected to said drum 1. For this purpose, said cord is, after being wound half a turn about drum 1, is secured by said securing plate I9 which is pressed onto said drum by means of a screw 20. Inasmuch as the cords ii! are thus removably connected to said drums through the clamping action of removable plate l9, said cords may be adjusted as desired so as to give more or less tension to spring I! constituting the respective tightener e. In this manner, all of said tighteners may be adjusted with their relative tension, and by rotating more or less said drum I through the hand regulator element g, it is possible to secure the desired tightness in all of the tighteners e at the same time. The player Ina; thus regulate at will the hardness of the keys, since said hardness will depend on the resistance offered by hammers (1, according to the tension of tightencrs e; said hardness is a function of the back-stroke or return towards inoperative position.

In the embodiment of Fig. 9, the cord [8 is secured to the securing member I9 which is an eye or ring fixed to the tail M of keys (1; to said eye I!) the cord i8 is tied at the point corresponding to a higher or lower tension in spring I'l, thus constituting an individual regulation of the tension on each tightener for each hammer.

As may be seen in Fig. 9, the regulating device f is a strip 32 extending along the entire row of cords iii of tighteners e, so that when said strip 32 is joined to the bar 27 of hand regulator element 9, the displacement of said bar will cause said cords to bend into an angle, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9, thereby increasing the length of the line between securing member l9 and hook ll; thus, the more said strip 32 of regulator f is displaced, the higher will be the tension in spring ll.

It will be noted that even if the cords 18 are tied to the corresponding key tails I4, the tension of the springs I? can be adjusted by a single movement of bar 2'! associated with the hand regulator element g shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

It is evident that in carrying out this invention, several changes, modifications and/or alterations will occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as clearly set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A piano keyboard regulator, which comprises a plurality of tightening springs each coupled at one end to the wippen bridle tape hook of one of the piano hammers, the other end of said springs being connected to the rear end of the key corresponding to the respective hammer, said springs having tension towards the inoperative position of said hammers and having a strength insufficient to overcome the weight of said rear end of said keys.

2. A piano keyboard regulator, which comprises a plurality of tightening springs each coupled at one end to the wippen bridle tape hook of one of the piano hammers, the other end of said springs'being connected to the rear end of the key corresponding to the respective hammer, by means of a cord fastened at one end to said other end of said springs, the other end of said cord being tied to an eye screw provided at said rear end of each key, whereby the tension of said springs may be individually adjusted, said springs having tension towards the inoperative position of said hammers and having a strength insufficient to overcome the weight of said rear end of said keys.

3. A piano keyboard regulator, which comprises a plurality of tightening springs each coupled at one end to the wippen bridle tape hook of one of the piano hammers, the other end of said springs being connected to the rear end of the key corresponding to the respective hammer, by means of a cord fastened at one end of said cord to said other end of said springs, the other end of said cord being tied to an eye screw provided at said rear end of each key, whereby the ten- 6 sion of said springs may be individually adjusted, said springs having tension towards the inoperative position of said hammers and having a strength insuflicient to overcome the weight of said rear end of said keys, a tension regulator common to all of said springs, and hand actuated means for adjusting said common tension regulator.

NICOLAS KRAUSZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 555,409 Squire Feb. 25, 1896 945,113 Streich Jan. 4, 1910 956,448 Thompson et al. Apr. 26, 1910 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 44,782 Germany Sept. 22, 1888 

